I’ve just been reading a terrific new book called High-Profit Prospecting by my friend and colleague Mark Hunter. Mark is a consummate sales professional, and his book is about how to keep your sales pipeline full so that you never run out of valuable prospects.

I’m not a sales professional, but I am an idea professional. And, just like I think it’s vital for people in the sales business to keep their sales pipelines full, I think it’s equally vital for people in the idea business to keep their idea pipelines full.

By the way, as a leader, you are in the idea business.

In his book, Mark talks about the importance of not leaving prospecting to chance, not just waiting (and hoping) for prospects to fall into the pipeline. He says that a true sales professional should have weekly (preferably daily) dedicated prospecting time scheduled on the calendar. Because keeping the pipeline full is that important.

Likewise, leaders should schedule time weekly (preferably daily) to fill their idea pipeline. Because it’s that important.

So, how do you do this? Through four primary sources.

1. What you read.

There’s a reason why Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Elon Musk read voraciously. They understand the value of keeping their mental pipeline full of new ideas.

Schedule time to read. Every day, if possible. (And it is possible.) I’m not talking about Grisham and Patterson. They’re fine for the beach. Read about ideas. Read about things you don’t already know.

2. What you listen to.

To those of you who have horrendous commutes, congratulations! You’ve got a great opportunity to fill your idea pipeline! Instead of listening to the news (depressing), or the generic pop music station (mindless), why not try out one of the literally hundreds of great podcasts available? My guess is that there are at least a few podcasts out there for your particular field. Or, try one of my favorites, the TED Radio Hour podcast.

3. What you watch.

Although this probably won’t help you with your commute, there’s plenty to watch online-and some of it doesn’t involve kittens. For example, in addition to listening to the TED Radio Hour podcast, you can watch actual TED Talks Or, if you want something more in-depth and academic, Stanford University (among others) puts many of their courses online, absolutely free.

4. Who you meet.

I’ve saved the best for last. There are actual people out there, freely roaming the earth, who have knowledge, experiences, and ideas that you don’t have. They can be found in your town, in your workplace, sitting next to you on the plane or train. But here’s the caveat: if you only hang out with the same people you always hang out with, you’ll never meet these others. And that’s to your detriment, as a leader, and as a human being.

So fill your pipeline! Feed your brain continuously with new ideas. It’s the highest profit prospecting you can do.

It never ceases to amaze me how much money people will pay for a good idea these days. The question is how you go about being the person who GETS paid for those good ideas. If you have an area of expertise, chances are that somebody needs it!

Think about what it is that you “specialize in”, and who would need those services. If you are great at managing inventory – say you used to manage a restaurant, you could conceivably market yourself as an inventory management consultant, and review sales figures in order to determine how much of a given product to order.

Sometimes, you can work backwards, and look for different branches of consulting-see if any of them apply to areas of knowledge which you possess. If not, feel free to create one. As long as it describes what you do, you’re fine. A word of caution – don’t be too specific, you don’t want people to think that what you offer, isn’t what they want!

You can also redesign your job title. One of my buddies from college was a graphic design artist one day, doing logos, and 2 weeks later he was an advertising consultant, doing complete media and marketing packages – but making over 3 times as much money!

All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity and a stack of business cards. With cards in hand, give them to everyone you know. The words “consultant” and “services” usually stand out.

Think about it – “graphic design artist” or “graphic consultant services.” For some reason, seeing those two words together prepares your potential clients for the added value – and cost to expect from you.

Opinions wanted. Huge sums of money paid. Very little work required. If that was a job description, would you apply? Chances are, you answered yes.

Literally, your job is to discuss. You heard me right. Do you have an artistic talent? Become a media consultant. Besides your base contract, which is usually a heft amount, you’ll earn a rebate, usually 15% of their money that you spend on advertising. So if you get hired for a month’s project and charge $2000, and you end up spending $50,000 on television and radio advertisements, your rebate alone is $7500.

There are two keys to setting up a consulting business – credibility and knowledge. The credibility is more important of the two. If you have a friend with their own business, get them to hire you on for a modest amount, and use it as a learning opportunity – and a reference. This gives you a chance to “break in” to the field, and show a track record of performance worthy of being hired.

When I started consulting about 4 years ago, I cut my teeth in political consulting. I had volunteered on a few political campaigns (credibility), and had legitimately acquired the contact information for several vendors. With a stack of business cards and a little bit of know-how, I have literally been able to charge thousands of dollars to people for short term work – but valuable work nonetheless!

Once you’ve started, make sure everyone you know is aware of your services. People like to have “I know a guy” conversations. Make sure that you’re the guy whose name is going to be dropped, and watch the referrals roll in!